“Your road led through the sea,
your pathway through the mighty waters—
a pathway no one knew was there!”
“I have taken the road less traveled, and that has made all the difference.”
Those lines conclude the Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken.” They serve as the genesis of M. Scott Peck’s multi-million and New York Times best seller, The Road Less Traveled. And they describe life following Jesus — just ask the disciples!
Walking with God often means taking a path we did not intend, that less-traveled road. Just ask Moses and Aaron, whose little jaunt through the desert led them through the Red Sea; not exactly God’s interstate highway. Were I them, despite God’s promise to see me safely to the other side, my head would be on a swivel, constantly looking left and right . . . and wondering when those walls of water would come crashing down.
How about Joseph, whose path included a dunk in a cistern, a dusty trip to Egypt (after being literally “sold out” by his brothers), the brief high of being Potiphar’s trusted steward until — falsely accused by Potiphar’s adulterous wife — he was tossed in the slammer, only to be whisked into Pharaoh’s court as second in command over all Egypt.
Esther‘s path was through the king’s harem.
Jeremiah‘s path included two decades of hatred and ridicule from an obstinate nation that refused to hear God’s message through him.
Oh yeah, and then there is that part in Hebrews 11 about those who were sawed in half for their faith — Nope, didn’t see that coming!
Yes, “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,” but sometimes walking the path Jesus assigns is not so sweet. At times it’s spicy, sour, and stale.
That was the unhappy state of Asaph in the 77th Psalm. Stranded on the path where God placed him, feeling alone, abandoned, and angry, he cries out, “Where the heck are you God?” That’s the TKPV ( Tommy Kiedis Paraphrase Version).
Let me ask you, “What do you do when your understanding of who God is, does not jibe (harmonize) with the circumstances you find yourself in?” That was the dilemma Asaph faced. It was Jeremiah’s challenge too!
“God, I expected something different when I followed you! Why is this path so hard?”
The Lord reminds Jeremiah, “Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?“ (Jeremiah 23:24). And yet, for Jeremiah, Joseph, Esther, Asaph, and saints throughout the centuries, our current predicament makes us feel like we took a wrong turn, like we’re off God’s beaten path, for certainly God would show up if I were in the right place.
Talk about spiritual discombobulation!
Asaph complains,
All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven, but my soul was not comforted. I’m too distressed even to pray! Has the Lord rejected me forever? Is his unfailing love gone forever? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he slammed the door on his compassion? And I said, “This is my fate; the Most High has turned his hand against me.” Psalm 77:2, 7-10 NLT
If your understanding of the nature and character of God has ever been called into question when your path runs headlong into a brick wall, when your experience of God falls short of your expectations of God, Psalm 77 is for you!
Asaph does what we must do when the path we walk is seemingly void of the presence of the God we know:
11 But then I recall all you have done, O Lord;
I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
12 They are constantly in my thoughts.
I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.
13 O God, your ways are holy.
He reminds himself (preaches to himself) how God has worked in the past. And knowing that, he KNOWS God will come through. Certainly, Moses and Aaron did not see, nor would they choose a path through the sea, but it was along that difficult path they saw the reality of God‘s ever-present help. Jeremiah’s path was crooked, rocky, and uphill, but he knew God like few did. Did Esther ever imagine her path would include months in Ahasuerus’ harem? No way! But, oh did God work through her bravery.
Some expect that to walk with God means an easier path and regular signs of God‘s blessing. Jeremiah and Asaph remind me that it is not true. Yes, God is always near, however, my path and experiences may make me feel like he isn’t.
I have a small, framed poem in my office that has held a special place in my walk with Christ. It came from a student years ago; a poem from the pen of Janet Chester Bly:
Sometimes I would rather wait my turn in party clothes
Prim and proper, safe and clean
But a pulsing hand keeps driving me
Over peaks and ravines and spidering brambles
So that one day I will pant up to the pearled gates
Tattered, breathless, and full of tales.
If your path seems incongruent with the God you know, if you expected easier, or more signs of his presence, or more travelers to take the journey and to share the load, or more comfort or more rest or less peaks, ravines, and spidering brambles, don’t lose heart. Do what Asaph did! Do what the greats of the faith have always done: Remember God’s work in the past, preach to yourself the truth of his presence and care in the present, and take that next step in confident faith.
One day, you too will pant up to the pearled gates, tattered, breathless, and full of tales.